Vault.



No. 7|6 osa l l J. s. LESTER.' atm-e n0- l6, |902.

V A U L T plication filed Feb.

2 Sheets-Sheet I` v 1 g i No. 7|6,o68. Patented nec, IB, |902.

A J. s. LESTER. A

Y l (Appnmion med'reb. 1, 1902.3 .um maal.)

2 SheetsfSheet 2.,

on the line X Xof Fig. 2.

i UNITED `STATES `JAMES s. LESTER, orATLANTA, GEORGIA.

VAULT.'

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Baitent No. 716,068, dated December 16, 1902.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES S. LESTER, a citi-` zen of the United States, residing at Atlanta, in the county ofFulton and State of Georgia, have' invented a new and useful Building or Vault, of which 'the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to buildings,

and especially to that class of structures employed as burial-vaults and the like.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a structure which willwithstand the ravages of time, the several parts and mem-` bers being arranged andgcombined so that portions subjected to the deleterious iniluences and actions of the elements will be protected from the same.

Other features relate4 to certain details of construction and arrangement, which will be readily understood byreferring to the follow-i ing specification.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is clearly illustrated -in4 the accompanying drawings, and the construction set forth therein is described in the following specification; but it is to be distinctly understood that the right is reserved to make changes and modifications from the 'construction shown and described and toA employ said construction in connection with structures other than burial-vaults.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a burial-vault constructed in accordance with the present'invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken Fig. 4 is a similar section taken on the line Y Y of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of portions of the outer sheathing, more `clearly shown in the'construction thereof. Fig. 6 is a detail view of a part of one of the doors. spective view of one of the standards or pilasters employed. a

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding part-s in all the gures of the drawings.

The vault, as shown, comprises side and end walls, a base, and a cover or roof. The base 10 `is preferably, though not necessarily,

in the form of a bedding of concrete or ce` ment, substantially oblong in form and pronamentedA with tiling 12.

jecting beyond the front of the structure to form a landing 11, which may be suitably or- The side andnrear walls consist of spaced outer and inner sheathings 13 and14 and an intermediate lling 15, the outer sheathing and filling being support- `ed upon a sill 16. This sill rests4 upon the base or foundation and is secured theretoby Qdowel-pins 17, that are embedded inthebase land engage in the under side of the sill.

Said sill is provided in its upper face with" 'a longitudinally-disposed groove 18,the portion 19 inside of said groove extending to a greater height than the portion on the outside, said `outer portion being preferably beveled, so as to shed the Water.

Spaced standards inthe form of pilasters 2O project above the sill and are provided with longitudinally disposed grooves 21, which are located in the same plane as the groove 1S of the sill. Facingslabs 22 fill in the spaces between the standards and have their edges fitted in the grooves thereof and the upper groove 18 of the sill. 1n this manner the outer surface of the structure is formed into separate panels and the pilasters or standards may be suitably ornamented to present a pleasing and ornamental appearance.` 1

The upper ends ofthe facingslabs 22 are seured to the standards or pilasters by means of fastening devices inthe form of lstaples (Shown especially iu Fig. 5.) .These staples fit in openings 211 made for the purpose in said `slabs and standards. Upon the upper edges of the outer sheathings is placed a rim or, molding 25, that is secured thereto by `dowel-pins 26, seated in the upper ends of the standards and extending entirely through said molding. The inner sheathing is preferably constructed of suitable plates or slabs that extend from the base and terminate short of the roof, the side slabs being connected by a ceiling-plate 27, that is located some distance beneath said roof and extends only a part Way back from the front end of the structure, forming a covering. An interior chamber is thus provided, and said chamber is subdivided by an intermediate vertical partition 28 and horizontal platforms 29 into separate compartments 30. These platforms and partition terminate short of the front end of the structure, thereby providing a vestibule ICO 3l, the compartments 30 being disposed longitudinally of the structure and opening into said vestibule. They are closed by suitable doors 32, which lit tightly into their several mouths and are arranged to be cemented therein. To this end each door is provided with peripheral grooves 33, that are arranged to receive the cement or other binding material. The uppermost platform 29 is located some distance below the ceiling 27 of the vestibule and said ceiling-plate extends over the same. A vertical transversely-disposed partition 34 extends from the top platform to the inner end of the ceiling-plate 27, thereby pro.

viding a receptacle 35, in which flowers, trophies, or souvenirs may be displayed.

Frein the lower portion of each compartment 30 extends a separate Vent-pipe 36, that is located between the inner and outer rear wall sheathings and projects well above the upper platform. Here these several pipes are connected by suitable branches to a pair of common exhaust-pipes 37, which project through the outer face of the rear wall and have downwardly-turned ends 38, which thus prevent the ingress of moisture to the compartments. The filling 13 between the inner and outer sheathings may be of any desirable material; but as shown it consists of brickworksuitably laid in mortar or cement and extending above the compartments. The space between said compartments and the roof is also completely lled with similar materialto a level with the top edge of the rim 25. A powerful stringer 39, however, is iirst laid across the middle portion of the structure, being supported by the rim and having its upper edge iiush with the same. After the filling has been put in place the cover is applied. This cover, as shown, consists'of two independent blocks or slabs 40, that rest upon the rim, said cover being securely held in place by the pills 26, which, as already stated, project through the rim and engage in sockets made for the purpose in the under faces of said slabs. The upper faces of the roof pieces or slabs incline in opposite directions to shed the water, and the intermediate joint is covered by a ridge-piece 41, that is fitted snugly in place thereon. Upon the central portion of this ridge-piece may be placed a suitable ornament, as 42, and as this'ornament may often be of great size and weight it will be evident that the Stringer 39 already described will assist in the support of the same, thereby relieving the lling and the interior compartment-walls of the great strain.

The front wall of the structure is preferably, though not necessarily, of solid blocks of material and is provided with a doorway 43, which permits access to the vestibule, and thus to the compartments. This doorway is closed by swinging doors 44, hinged, as at 45, to the opposite side pieces of the front, said doors being held locked in closed positions by any suitable means. They are provided contiguousto their lower ends with suitable ventapertures 46, which may be covered with screening, as 47. Said doors are, furthermore, provided with windows 48, normally covered by glass panels 49, said panels being slidably mounted in guides 50, constructed in the inner faces of the door, so that when desired the panels may be slid back to uncover the openings and permit free ventilation. They may be locked in their closed positions by strips 51, detachably fitted in the guides 50.

The advantages for this construction may be summed up as follows: In the first place the vault may be constructed at much less expense than the usual mausoleum, because only the faces need be of expensive material, While the intermediate filling maybe of brick or cement. At the same time the outer face that is exposed to the action of the elements is constructed so that no mortar or cement will be effected and stain the same. The joint between the sill and the facing-slabs requires special mention, for the reason that it is substantially water tight. Even should liquid running down the outer face of the facing-slabs enter the joint it will not pass over the inner portion of the sill, because said inner portion is so much higher than the outer portion. The receptacle 35 constitutes a convenient repository for flowers, wreaths, or the like, so that they will be exposed to view without being in the way when entrance is desired to the inner compartments for the purpose of depositing a casket therein. The specific arrangement of the vent-pipes is also advantageous. By having separate pipes leading above all of them and there joining them to common exhaust-pipes the chance for gases and the like passing from one chamber to another is practically eliminated, and because of the downturned'exposed terminals of the discharge-pipes water will not enter through the same.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, operation, and many advantages of the herein-described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion, and minor details of construction `may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. For instance, the arrangement of the compartments may be changed to a considerable extent, and certain features of the structure may be employed in connection with other forms of vaults, such as are employed in banks, commercial houses, and the like, nor is the invention to be limited to any particular material, as either metal or stone may be employed in the same.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

-1. In a structure of the class described, a wall having an outer sheathing comprising spaced upright standards, facing-slabs interfrom each compartment to a point ICO IIO

locked with the standards, an inner sheathing of lining-slabs spaced `from the-outer `sheathing-slabs, and an intermediate core filling the space between the shea'things.

2. In a structure of the class described, a

wall having an outer sheathing comprising a most horizontal partition, said transverse partition being located in rear of the front ends of the longitudinal partitions, and a covering resting upon the transverse partition and extending forwardly from the same, thereby forming an open-front receptacle.

4. Astructure of the class described having side and rear walls, and atop forming a cham' ber, horizontal `and vertical longitudinallydisposed partitions subdividing the chamber into` separate compartments, said partitions terminating short of the front of the chamber and of the top, atransversely-disposed u pright partition located upon the uppermost horizontal partition, said transverse parti-` tion being located in rear of the front ends of the longitudinal partitions, thereby forming an open-front receptacle, a ceiling located upon the transverse partition, solid backing lling the space in rear of the said transverse partition and above the ceiling-plate, and a roof located over andresting upon the backing.

5. In a structure of the class described, a wall having a sill provided with a longitudinal groove in its, upper face, `the portion of the sill on theinside of the groove being higher than the outer portion, said outer portion having its upper face beveled, pilasters located upon thesill and having the outer portions of their lower ends beveled and fitted upon the outer beveled portion of the sill, said pilasters having grooves in their adjacent faces, which grooves are in alinement'with the grooves ot' the sill, a sheathing-slab tted in the grooves of the pilasters and sill, an inner sheathing fitted against the inner side of the sill and spaced from the slabs, and a filling located against the adjacent faces ot' the inner and outer sheathings and'resting upon the portion of the sill inside the same.

6, In a structure of the class described, the combination with a side wall, of a rim located upon the side wall, roof-blocks resting upon the rim, and fastening devices` engaging the side wall, passing through the rim, andi engagingthe roof-blocks to secure the same together. l

7. A structure of the class described comprising a side Wall having upright standards, a rim located upon the standards, roof-blocks resting upon the rim, and doWel-pins seated in the upper ends of the standards, projecting through the rim and engaging in the under sides of the roof-blocks.

8.` A structure of the class describedhaving side and rear walls forming a chamber, partitions dividing the chamber into separate compartments, said partitions terminating short ot the front of the chamber to provide spaced from the outer slabs andhaving their r lower ends resting against the inner face of the sill and covering the same, and an intermediate tilling of brick located between the outer and inner slabs and resting upon the sill, of partitions dividing the space between.

the walls into a plurality of compartments,

the inner lining slabs constituting liningwalls for certain of the compartments.

Intestimony that I claim the foregoing as myown I have hereto affixed my signatu rein `the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES S. LESTER,

Witnesses:

J oHN H. SIGGERS, FLORENCE E. WALTER. 

